Durban - “Help me, I’m burning, I’m burning!”
These were some of the last words screamed out by KwaDukuza (Stanger) resident Trisha Naidoo, 26, when she was doused with petrol, set alight and locked in a toilet.
last week her married lover Niresh Singh, 35, appeared in the Durban High Court for the start of his murder trial. He pleaded not guilty, claiming Naidoo set herself on fire.
Naidoo’s sister Nikita gave chilling evidence on the November 16, 2016, incident.
Naidoo died 14 days after the incident, in Stanger Hospital.
The State’s summary of substantial facts, read out by prosecutor Cheryl Naidu, revealed Singh and Naidoo, who were living together in Glenhills, KwaDukuza, had had an acrimonious relationship.
They had one child together and were both unemployed, although Singh worked occasionally providing gardening services.
On the night of the incident, the couple were allegedly arguing about money. Singh allegedly doused Naidoo with petrol from his gardening supplies, set her alight and locked her in the toilet. Naidoo managed to escape, dousing the flames in the adjoining shower.
Nikita said on the stand her sister had dropped off her son with her at about 8 pm, as she normally did.
“My boyfriend (Dhardesh Singh) phoned me (later) and told me that my sister and Niresh were fighting. I ran over to Trisha’s house. I could hear Trisha screaming. My cousin and boyfriend, Dhardesh, were already there.
“When I got upstairs, Trisha was under the shower. She was screaming, ‘I’m burning, I’m burning’. Her hair and body was still smoking. The skin on her hands were out. She said, ‘Look what he did to me, look what Niresh did to me’.”
A day after the incident, Nikita spoke to her sister in hospital, the court heard. “She told me Niresh did this to her. She said he threw petrol on her. She also asked me to take care of her son.”
Nikita testified Naidoo was in an abusive relationship, and six months before the incident Singh had allegedly hit her sister.
Leevash Ramlakan, Naidoo’s cousin who lived a door away from her, testified he was one of the first people to arrive at her house.
“I heard a window breaking. I got on to the road and heard screaming coming from Trisha’s house. As I got closer, it sounded like Trisha. I screamed for Niresh to open the door. I got no response. I still could hear Trisha scream out for help. I tried to break the front door as it was locked.”
He said Dhardesh helped him to break open the door. They found Niresh on the sofa. “When we called out to him, he just looked at us.”
Ramlakan said Nikita asked him to prevent Singh from getting to Naidoo.
“I was on the stairs. The accused tried to get past me. The only way to stop him, was to stand in front of him. He tried to push me and I punched him in the face and chest, and threw him down the stairs.”
Ramlakan, Dhardesh and Damien, Naidoo’s brother, began to hit Singh, the court heard.
In a statement read out by his Legal Aid lawyer, Thiagaraj Prem Pillay, Singh claimed Naidoo was angry with him and accused him of visiting his first wife, Charlene, with whom he has a 13-year-old daughter.
While married, he had met Naidoo at a supermarket where they both worked. “We fell in love and she became pregnant with our son.” In 2010, he left his wife to be with Naidoo and their child.
Singh said on the night of the incident, Naidoo questioned him about coming home late and accused him of going to see his "your b**** again."
“I told Trisha I was tired of her accusations and that the following day I was going to go live with my mom.”
He said he then poured himself a beer. “I took my top and boots off, as I was going to shower. As I passed the bedroom, I saw Trisha was not there. I called out to her and she said she was in the toilet.”
He said he heard a loud explosion from the toilet.
“I got burnt on my body. I saw the toilet door had come off the frame. I ran to the toilet and found Trisha on fire. She wanted some ice. I ran downstairs for ice. When I went back upstairs, Trisha was already under the shower.”
Singh was arrested the next day.
Previously, Damien testified he had taken pictures of the scene the day after the incident. These included the remains of his sister’s clothing, the toilet door and the door handle which still had her burnt flesh on it.
“I could see the flesh and burnt clothes,” he said when shown the pictures in court.
Naidu said the State’s case was largely based on circumstantial evidence because there were no witnesses.
The matter was adjourned.